The Bookstore
by holysmokesphan
Summary: Phil owns the popular bookstore in town. It's a few days before Christmas and Dan is doing some last minute shopping. He goes to Phil's bookstore and is the only one there, so he starts talking with Phil and they immediately click with each other.


Phil sighed as he looked up at the clock for the millionth time.

It was nearing midnight, and he was still working at the bookstore. Times like these, Phil was actually thankful that he had worked from home. It was only just a few years ago that he turned his living room into a library that was, at first, just for him... until one of his friends he suggested that he made it public. Since then, he's owned the most popular bookstore in town. Phil was very proud of it, and he was glad that people enjoyed his store.

Phil was about to turn around to walk into the dining room, but he stopped as soon as he heard the ding from the door go off. He looked over and smiled slightly when he saw that a boy who looked to be around 20 years old walked in. Phil wasn't going to lie, this boy looked extremely attractive; he was a tall boy with brown hair hair and chocolate brown eyes.

"Hello," Phil greeted as the boy walked inside. He chuckled when the boy had jumped.

"Oh, hi," the boy replied as he shut the door behind him.

"Wow. Is it snowing outside again?" Phil asked as he raised his eyebrows, seeing the white fluff on the boy's head. "It was just snowing this morning. Bloody weather."

"Yeah, it is snowing... again. I chose a terrible time for Christmas shopping," the boy said.

"Christmas shopping? Christmas is in two days," Phil chuckled.

"I know... I was just really behind on school work," the boy explained.

"School work? Are you in University or something?" Phil asked curiously.

"Yeah... it's my second time trying. Dad wants me to become a lawyer which is something I really don't want to do because, who wants to become a lawyer? Oh... sorry for rambling," the boy blushed as he looked up at Phil. "I ramble when I'm nervous."

"No need to be nervous in front of me. Can I help you with everything?" Phil asked.

"Actually... I was just looking for The Hunger Games trilogy. I wanted to buy the books for my sister. She's been wanting to read it but she doesn't have the books at home," the boy said.

"I've got all three of them. I'll be back in a second," Phil said before he turned around and walked to the back. He grabbed the three books and then he went back to the desk.

"My name's Dan, by the way..." The boy introduced himself as.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Phil," Phil shook Dan's hand.

"Nice to meet you too. Do you live here as well?" Dan asked curiously as he watched Phil check out the books for him. "I only heard about this place yesterday and was curious."

"Yeah, this is my home. This is actually my living room," Phil told him.

"Wow. This is a pretty large living room," Dan said as he looked around.

Phil chuckled. "Yeah, that's why I turned it into a little library. Well, now big library," he said.

"Thank you," Dan said as he took the books from Phil. He handed them the money. "How late do you stay open?" He asked curiously as he looked up at Phil again.

"'Til 2 o'clock. I don't know why... I should just close at midnight. Who in the world would come out this late just to buy books?" Phil asked. He laughed and shook his head.

"Well, maybe they would if they knew the owner of the bookstore was attractive," Dan said. He blushed slightly as he looked up at Phil. Dan was never good at flirting, but he couldn't help but crush on Phil... even though they had just met. He still wanted to get to know him more, and Phil just seemed like such a nice person that Dan would get along with.

"Really? You think I'm attractive?" Phil asked, smiling at Dan.

"Obviously, I'd be blind if I didn't think it," Dan answered.

Phil laughed. "Would you... by any chance... like to stay for some tea?" He asked.

"Even though it's midnight, sure. I'd love some tea," Dan said with a smile.

Phil grinned. "Follow me. You can sit your things down on the counter," he said.

Dan nodded and he gently placed his two bags and the books down on the counter. He then followed Phil into the dining room, and then they walked into the kitchen.

Dan was amazed at how big the house was. "This house is massive," he told Phil.

Phil laughed as he walked over to the cabinets and pulled two mugs out. "I know," he said as he looked over at Dan. "My family's quite rich, but owning your own bookstore helps too."

"Damn, that must be nice," Dan said as he watched Phil. He leaned against the counter.

"I got quite lucky growing up so yeah... it is nice," Phil said.

Dan and Phil chatted with each other as Phil made himself and Dan tea, and the chatting didn't even stop as they sat down together at the dining table.

Dan's only been at Phil's house for a half an hour and he was already falling in love with Phil; though he couldn't tell if it was a good thing or not. Dan always fell in love quickly.

"So, what type of music do you listen to?" Phil asked, smiling as he watched Dan.

"A lot of bands; Muse, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy," Dan answered.

"No way... you like Muse? That's my favorite band!" Phil exclaimed.

"Are you serious? I saw them live once and they were incredible," Dan said.

"I saw them a couple weeks ago. They really are incredible live," Phil said with a smile.

"What's your favorite Muse song?" Dan asked curiously.

"Oh my God. There's so many to chose from... uhm, I really love New Born," Phil said.

"Amazing song," Dan said. He couldn't help but chuckle. "We have a lot in common."

"I've noticed that. I've never met someone who has so much in common with me," Phil said.

"You know, I'm glad I decided to come to the bookstore at midnight," Dan said.

Phil smiled. "Yeah? I'm glad you came too," he said.

"That's what she said," Dan couldn't stop himself from giggling.

Phil went into laughter. "You're so immature!"

"Hey! Being immature is a part of my charm," Dan said with a grin.

"I find it hard to believe that someone like you is single," Phil said.

Dan blushed. "I could say the same thing about you," he whispered.

"Oh please. What guy would want to date someone who spends most of their time owning a bookstore and selling books to random strangers?" Phil asked, sighing slightly.

"I-I know someone who would want to," Dan said. He looked up at Phil and smiled a bit, making his dimple show. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself."

Phil shrugged his shoulders. "I've always been like this," he admitted.

"As I was saying... you seem like, such a nice guy. It would be really amazing if we could see each other more. Maybe... we could go on a date one day?" Dan asked hopefully.

"R-Really?" Phil asked, blinking a few times as shock appeared on his face.

"That's not exactly the reaction I was expecting," Dan said.

"Oh," Phil laughed. "No... that was shock. I would love to go on a date with you!"

"Really?" Dan asked excitedly. He sighed in relief. "Wow. This night turned out to be more exciting than I thought. I'm really glad I decided to come here for Christmas shopping."

"You already said that," Phil said. He couldn't help but chuckle.

Dan stuck his tongue out at him. "Shut up," he mumbled. He still smiled a bit.

It was three hours later; Dan and Phil were still sitting in the dining room. They'd been talking with each other all night. But now, it was getting late and Dan knew that he had to be getting home soon even though he really didn't want to leave. He could talk with Phil all night.

"It's 4 o'clock in the morning. I really should be getting home," Dan said.

"This late? The road's are probably awful after all that snow today. Why don't you stay here for the night and you can leave when you wake up," Phil suggested.

"Oh no. You've already done enough for me," Dan said.

"Dan, it's fine. I don't want anything to happen to you," Phil assured him.

Dan thought for a few seconds and then he smiled. "Okay," he said.

"Okay," Phil also smiled. "I have a guest bedroom you can sleep in."

"Shit, this place really is huge," Dan said. He laughed. "How am I so awake this late?"

Phil grinned. "Let's go upstairs, yeah?" He suggested as he stood up.

"Phil," Dan said quickly as he stood up as well.

"Yeah?" Phil asked, looking over at Dan again.

"Thanks... for doing this. It really means a lot to me," Dan whispered.

Phil smiled and shook his head. "It's my pleasure," he said.


End file.
